Barlow uses figure and narrative to talk about issues of multiculturalism, otherness, and identity. She works within the history of portrait painting injecting that history with a new generation of faces and stories. With the historical scarcity of positive imagery Barlow represents people of color and mixed race backgrounds positively. Barlow seeks to give a voice to the underrepresented multiethnic community.

Barlow uses figure and narrative to talk about issues of multiculturalism, otherness, and identity. She works within the history of portrait painting injecting that history with a new generation of faces and stories. With the historical scarcity of positive imagery Barlow represents people of color and mixed race backgrounds positively. Barlow seeks to give a voice to the underrepresented multiethnic community.